leasummer's review against another edition
2.0
In the first two stories I was so distracted by what horrible men the female sleuths were married to I couldn’t focus on much else. One is a jerk who can’t help and the second is basically another child.
The first is a mystery with no death/Murder, which is uncommon. The story was overly predictable and I’m terrible at predicting what happens. The second was a bit more interesting if you sidestep the terrible assumptions made and the use of all the horror movie names in one family.
Barbara Ross’s story I found to be the most enjoyable.
The first is a mystery with no death/Murder, which is uncommon. The story was overly predictable and I’m terrible at predicting what happens. The second was a bit more interesting if you sidestep the terrible assumptions made and the use of all the horror movie names in one family.
Barbara Ross’s story I found to be the most enjoyable.
clue2u's review
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
mbedrosian's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So begins the
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
This was a collection of three novellas. Overall, the book as a whole was a quick, enjoyable read. However, breaking down my enjoyment by novella:
Haunted House Murder, by Leslie Meier: umm. This was tied for favorite, but... y’all, there WAS NO MURDER. So it was disappointing. And misleading. Wtf, book.
Death by Haunted House, by Lee Hollis: this was my second favorite, but irritating because uh. So many assumptions that the MC made about her new neighbors. And her husband was irritating and also jumped to assumptions very quickly (he was honestly worse than the MC and pulled her into his delusional thinking).
Hallowed Out, by Barbara Ross: not a bad story but my least favorite of the three. Barely, though. I’m not entirely sure what made it my least favorite, though.
I’m definitely going to be looking for cozy mysteries by each of these authors. I may have also put in an order at Thriftbooks for some of the Christmas cozy mystery collections featuring Leslie Meier and other authors...
Haunted House Murder, by Leslie Meier: umm. This was tied for favorite, but... y’all, there WAS NO MURDER. So it was disappointing. And misleading. Wtf, book.
Death by Haunted House, by Lee Hollis: this was my second favorite, but irritating because uh. So many assumptions that the MC made about her new neighbors. And her husband was irritating and also jumped to assumptions very quickly (he was honestly worse than the MC and pulled her into his delusional thinking).
Hallowed Out, by Barbara Ross: not a bad story but my least favorite of the three. Barely, though. I’m not entirely sure what made it my least favorite, though.
I’m definitely going to be looking for cozy mysteries by each of these authors. I may have also put in an order at Thriftbooks for some of the Christmas cozy mystery collections featuring Leslie Meier and other authors...
katkinney's review against another edition
5.0
A fun collection of three Halloween stories perfect to get you in a spooky mood! In “Haunted House Murder” Lucy Stone is trying to figure out what’s going on when a spooky house in town is bought by a strange reclusive couple. Also, her grandson comes to stay for a few months. 5 bats in the Halloween Spooktacular department and this one had “Death by Haunted House” had some delicious recipes, yum for that cheesy casserole! And all three stories featured wonderful Halloween tales of Down East Maine. A delightful short story collection perfect for getting in a fall mood!
Spoiler
a completely hilarious ending!!heatherbumbleb's review against another edition
2.0
Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier 2
Death by Haunted House by Lee Hollis 2
Hallowed Out by Barbara Ross 3
Death by Haunted House by Lee Hollis 2
Hallowed Out by Barbara Ross 3
cj_mo_2222's review against another edition
4.0
This book is actually a collection of three Halloween-themed novellas. All three are set in small towns in Maine and the characters are preparing for Halloween in a variety of ways. Overall, I would rate the book 4 stars, which is an average of my rating of each individual story. Each story was entertaining and it's a great collection to get in the mood for Halloween.
The first story is "Haunted House Murder" by Leslie Meier which I would rate 4 stars. I have read a few full-length novels featuring Lucy Stone who is a part-time reporter for Tinker Cove's weekly newspaper, the "Pennysaver". I always have mixed emotions about Lucy. I like that she's not perfect, but she sometimes go overboard with her attitude. I understand she is overwhelmed with her work responsibilities and the unexpected responsibility of caring for her grandson. However, I was surprised when she found it "boring" and "ridiculous" that her eight-year-old wasn't catching onto fractions quickly enough. In spite of that, the story of her neighbors Ty and Heather Moon moving into a run-down house that was rumored to be haunted was entertaining. Although Lucy already has her hands full, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of that mystery. I guessed part of how things were going to turn out, but I still enjoyed the ending.
The second story in this book is "Death by Haunted House" by Lee Hollis. I would give this story 3.5 stars. Similar to the first story, a family has moved into a house that has remained vacant and is thought to be haunted. Hayley Powell's new neighbors are strange and unfriendly, but she soon begins to worry they may be dangerous. I like Hayley and her children, but her husband acts like a child himself and often makes difficult situations even worse. This story is set in the year 2009. I was unfamiliar with this series so out of curiosity, I looked up some of the full-length novels featuring Hayley and in the first one, it says she is a divorced, single mom so it looks like Hayley may have also got tired of Danny's immaturity! The murder mystery itself drags on a little too long, even in a shorter story, but the solution was unexpected and interesting.
The third story, "Hallowed Out" by Barbara Ross is my favorite of the three and I give it 4.5 stars. Busman's Harbor has a reputation for being haunted which provides local resident, Harley Prendergast, the perfect opportunity to promote a Halloween Haunted House tour. Julia Snowden, her boyfriend, and other family members get talked into helping Harley act out scenes from some of the town's famous ghost stories. This seems like a fairly harmless way to celebrate Halloween until something goes horribly wrong and the town is dealing with an all-too-real death that looks like murder. This story starts out a little slow, but picks up once Julia begins investigating the murder. I never could have guessed the motive behind the murder and the identity of the killer, and I enjoyed seeing Julia get to the solution in this fun cozy.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Kensington Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
The first story is "Haunted House Murder" by Leslie Meier which I would rate 4 stars. I have read a few full-length novels featuring Lucy Stone who is a part-time reporter for Tinker Cove's weekly newspaper, the "Pennysaver". I always have mixed emotions about Lucy. I like that she's not perfect, but she sometimes go overboard with her attitude. I understand she is overwhelmed with her work responsibilities and the unexpected responsibility of caring for her grandson. However, I was surprised when she found it "boring" and "ridiculous" that her eight-year-old wasn't catching onto fractions quickly enough. In spite of that, the story of her neighbors Ty and Heather Moon moving into a run-down house that was rumored to be haunted was entertaining. Although Lucy already has her hands full, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of that mystery. I guessed part of how things were going to turn out, but I still enjoyed the ending.
The second story in this book is "Death by Haunted House" by Lee Hollis. I would give this story 3.5 stars. Similar to the first story, a family has moved into a house that has remained vacant and is thought to be haunted. Hayley Powell's new neighbors are strange and unfriendly, but she soon begins to worry they may be dangerous. I like Hayley and her children, but her husband acts like a child himself and often makes difficult situations even worse. This story is set in the year 2009. I was unfamiliar with this series so out of curiosity, I looked up some of the full-length novels featuring Hayley and in the first one, it says she is a divorced, single mom so it looks like Hayley may have also got tired of Danny's immaturity! The murder mystery itself drags on a little too long, even in a shorter story, but the solution was unexpected and interesting.
The third story, "Hallowed Out" by Barbara Ross is my favorite of the three and I give it 4.5 stars. Busman's Harbor has a reputation for being haunted which provides local resident, Harley Prendergast, the perfect opportunity to promote a Halloween Haunted House tour. Julia Snowden, her boyfriend, and other family members get talked into helping Harley act out scenes from some of the town's famous ghost stories. This seems like a fairly harmless way to celebrate Halloween until something goes horribly wrong and the town is dealing with an all-too-real death that looks like murder. This story starts out a little slow, but picks up once Julia begins investigating the murder. I never could have guessed the motive behind the murder and the identity of the killer, and I enjoyed seeing Julia get to the solution in this fun cozy.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Kensington Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.